Privacy and Dignity

Definition of Privacy and Dignity

Privacy relates to the night to speak, act, or think as you would like, free from interruption or intervention. Also, to all practice and information that is sensitive or personal in nature to an individual, letting someone have time and space where and when they want or need it. Dignity concentrated on the worth of every individual by appreciating their views, decisions and choices not using guesswork to how they would like to be treated. Working with consideration and empathy.

Situations Where an Individual’s Privacy and Dignity could be Compromised

• Entering a patient’s cubicle while they are unaware you are there. (Walking into a cubicle without knocking.)
• Talking about patient’s personal information in a public place where unauthorised people could overhear.
• When arranging patients clothing such as hospital gowns.
• When patients need support showering or going to the toilet.
• When you need to touch a patient to help them with personal care. (Without asking for consent)
• Ignoring patients while carrying out your tasks.

How to Maintain Privacy and Dignity in your Workplace

Here are some examples of what can do to maintain a patient’s dignity and privacy

• Knock or notify the patient before entering the cubicle/room so they know you are coming in.
• Make sure you only talk to authorised people quietly about patient’s personal information, away from others if possible or in a private room.
• Arrange hospital gowns in a dignified way.
• Do not keep a patient waiting especially if they need help going to the toilet.
• Always ask for patients consent before touching them or performing any task, for example if you need to help them wash themselves.

People in general like to keep their personal details about themselves private. This may include details about their sexual orientation, health conditions, social circumstances, and personal history. Sharing this type of information with others, could open them up to discrimination, make them feel ashamed or make others treat them differently

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Ways of Helping Individuals to Make Informed Choices

As a person-centred approach patient are supported to make their own informed choices about their lives. This can involve choices such as what to eat, what to wear as well as choices about their support and care patients need to have accurate and relevant information to make their own decisions, which means knowing the possible implications and risks of their choices. Provide patients with as much information as you can explaining the pros and cons, so they can make informed choices. Arrangements can also be made for them to take to specialised/experiences professionals or others that have has to make the same choices. Further support may be needed for a decision to be made possibly from a family member or independent advocate.

Risk Assessment Processes in Support the Right of Individuals to Make their own Decisions

A risk assessment is a legal responsibility when assisting an individual in decision making. They give clear instructions on how to keep people safe and prevent harm, accidents, and danger. Every patient should have them as part of their care bundle providing information on their day to day support and care, such as, hygiene, go over how best to keep everyone safe. Its purpose is to go over details on possible hazards and what can be done to control any risks. These are the 5 steps in risk assessments:

• Identify hazards.
• Decide who could be harmed and how.
• Decide on precautions and evaluate the risks.
• Record the findings and apply them.
• Update and review your assessment if needed.

Risk assessments include support for individuals to assess and recognise their own risks and allows them to take those risks they have chosen. Through risk assessment you can support the individual in their rights to make their own decisions. Individuals will have a sense of independence because of being involved in the planning process and overall improve the quality of their care.

Personal Views Must not Influence an Individual’s own Choices or Decisions

As a healthcare worker/ Clinical Support Worker it is important not to influence our own personal views or choices on our patients as it can lead to the individual not being in control, having lack of self esteem and self-confidence. Patients or individuals may feel pressured to make a decision that does not best suit them because you have given them your own personal view. One of the person-centred values core beliefs is that the individual knows what care is best for them. Their decision is based upon their culture, values, and background not those of the health care worker.

There could be moments when patients are unhappy with their offered choices or decisions made on their behalf. It could also be something outside of your power to change, but there are other ways in which decisions can still be made by the individual. Firstly, remind them of their right to complain and support them through the complaints procedure we have at work. You may be able to change the individual’s choices they were given for the better through the complaint process, improving care by extension. The individual knows what care is best for them, supported in their right to complain if unhappy.

The Importance of How Valuing People Contributed to Active Participation

It is paramount that patients are an active partner in their own support or care. This way of working supports ‘Active Participation’. This supports the patients right to take part in relationships and activities of day to day life as unassisted as possible, enabling them to do things their own way by you showing them that you value individuals, and all other people, helps contribute to active participation. Active participation will also contribute to individual independence providing person centred care that is tailored to the individual, helps encourage them to join in with events of daily life.

How to Enable Individuals to Make Informed Choices about their Lives

Helping patients make their own education decisions about their lives, promotes dignity which is part of a person-centred approach. Patients must have all accurate and relevant details to make their own choices, this means understanding the risks and potential implications of their decision. You can enable individuals to make educated decisions by presenting them with as much detail as you can, making all pros and cons clear to them. If needed you could arrange for them to talk to a specialised or experienced professional or others that have had to make similar decisions. Further support could come from family members or an independent advocate to help them make a decision. If the individual does not seem to be able to retain or understand the information for long enough to make an educated decision, then a mental capacity assessment might be required.

Other ways they can Support Active Participation

• Support independence
• Encourage equal opportunities
• Value diversity
• Make use of assistive technology
• Communicate effectively with them
• Do not make assumptions about what they need/want
• Support and help them to challenge the choices others have made about them.
• Be non-judgemental
• Work in partnership with them
• Find ways to make changes in something established, introduce new ideas, methods, or products.
• Inspire them to take an active role in their support.

Importance of Enabling Individuals to Develop Skills in Selfcare

By giving individuals freedom to make their own choices about their care, your may help to put a stop to accidents and illnesses, the possibility of being able to take better care of themselves if the individual were to become ill with a short or long term condition. Boasting self confidence and self-esteem from the positive affect that independence can have on an individual, leads to a better overall wellbeing- potentially resulting in less anxiety, fatigue, depression, pain and a better quality of life, lowering the likelihood of self-neglect. Engaging individuals to maintain their network of friends within the community also furthers their well-being. Having the individual feel part of a group with the same ideas and interest, will raise self confidence and self-esteem along with reinforcing their identity.

References

• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – Privacy and Technology
• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) – Privacy
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – Privacy and Security
• Data Protection News
• Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
• Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC)
• Department of Homeland Security – Customs and Border Protection – Traveler Location Surveillance Report
• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Policy Blog – Privacy and Security